System and method for dynamically regulating order entry in an electronic trading environment

ABSTRACT

A system and method are provided for trading a trading strategy defined for at least one tradeable object in an electronic trading environment. More specifically, one example method includes using a first pay-up tick value to determine a first acceptable price level for an order associated with the trading strategy, automatically modifying the first pay-up tick to a second pay-up tick value in response to detecting a predefined condition, and using the second pay-up tick value to determine a second acceptable price level for the order associated with the trading strategy.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/549,067 filed Aug. 27, 2009, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/095,980, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,596,528,filed Mar. 31, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to electronic trading. Morespecifically, the present invention is directed towards dynamicallyregulating order entry in an electronic trading environment.

BACKGROUND

Trading methods have evolved from a manually intensive process to atechnology enabled, electronic platform. With the advent of electronictrading, a user or trader can be in virtually direct contact with themarket, from practically anywhere in the world, performing nearreal-time transactions.

Electronic trading is generally based on a host exchange, one or morecomputer networks, and client devices. In general, the host exchangeincludes one or more centralized computers to form the electronic heart.Its operations typically include maintaining an exchange order book thatrecords unexecuted orders, order matching, providing price and orderfill information, and managing and updating a database that records suchinformation. The host exchange is also equipped with an externalinterface that maintains uninterrupted contact to the client devices andpossibly other trading-related systems.

Using client devices, traders link to the host exchange through one ormore networks. A client device is a computer such as a personalcomputer, laptop computer, hand-held computer, and so forth that hasnetwork access. A network is a group of two or more computers or deviceslinked together, which can be characterized by topology, protocol, andarchitecture. For example, some market participants may link to the hostthrough a direct network connection such as a T1 or ISDN. Someparticipants may link to the host exchange through direct networkconnections and through other common network components such ashigh-speed servers, routers, and gateways. The Internet, a well-knowncollection of networks and gateways, can be used to establish aconnection between the client device and the host exchange. There aremany different types of wired and wireless networks and combinations ofnetwork types known in the art that can link traders to the hostexchange.

Sometimes, on their machines, traders use automated or semi-automatedtrading tools that automatically or semi-automatically send orders tothe exchange. Such trading tools are usually provided to, among otherthings, facilitate fast and accurate order entry. For instance, anautomated tool might quickly calculate one or more order parameters,such as order price or order quantity, based on market conditions, orsome other reference condition, and then automatically send an orderwith these parameters to an exchange for matching. According to manyexisting and popular exchanges today, orders are electronically enteredin an exchange order book in the sequence in which they are entered intothe market (a first-in, first-out, commonly referred to as FIFO matchingsystem). Based on this sequence, and the availability of marketquantity, orders are filled, with priority given to the first orderentered, then the second (next) order entered, and so forth.

Automated or semi-automated trading tools often include spread tradingtools. In general, spread trading is the buying and/or selling of one,two or more tradeable objects, the purpose of which is to capitalize onchanges or movements in the relationships between the tradeable objects.The tradeable objects that are used to complete a spread are referred toas the outright markets or legs of the spread. A spread trade couldinvolve buying tradeable objects, buying and selling tradeable objects,selling tradeable objects or some combination thereof.

As used herein, the term “tradeable object” refers to anything that canbe traded with a quantity and/or price. It includes, but is not limitedto, all types of traded events, goods and/or financial products, whichcan include, for example, stocks, options, bonds, futures, currency, andwarrants, as well as funds, derivatives and collections of theforegoing, and all types of commodities, such as grains, energy, andmetals. The tradeable object may be “real,” such as products that arelisted by an exchange for trading, or “synthetic,” such as a combinationof real products that is created by the user. A tradeable object couldactually be a combination of other tradeable objects, such as a class oftradeable objects.

During spread trading, a trader has typically a reason to believe thatthe conditions that will cause price movements in one tradeable objectwill also cause price movements in the other. Thus, in other words,spread trading may be thought of as the process of protecting a positionwhere an investment is made, by taking an offsetting position in arelated product in order to reduce the risk of adverse price movements.For example, a trader might simultaneously buy and sell two options ofthe same class at different strike prices and/or expiration dates.Typically, spread trading is used to describe a “short” position takento offset a “long” position in the market. In other words, when a longposition is established with one order, another order, an offset order,can be sent to fill the other leg(s) of the spread and offset thecreated position. A long position is one where a trader has purchased atradeable object at a specific price with the intent of selling thattradeable object at a higher price. A short position is one where thetrader has effectively sold the tradeable object first with the intentof buying it later at a lower price.

The automated spread trading tools typically allow a trader to adjustand control price levels at which offset orders are sent. However, theexisting offsets are user-configurable and remain static unless a traderchanges the entered values. To profit in electronic markets, marketparticipants must be able to assimilate large amounts of data, and mustreact to the received data more quickly than other competing marketparticipants. Thus, it is desirable to offer tools that can assist atrader in trading in an electronic trading environment, and help thetrader make trades at the most favorable prices in a speedy and accuratemanner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Example embodiments are described herein with reference to the followingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example network configurationfor a communication system utilized to access one or more exchanges;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a systemfor providing trading information;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example relationship between asynthetically created spread and its underlying legs;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example relationship between asynthetically created spread and its underlying legs of FIG. 3 after aspread order is placed;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating two example market depthsnapshots corresponding to the tradeable objects A and B that will beused to illustrate the use of offsets;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a spread configuration window;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a conditional pay-up tickconfiguration window that can be used by a trader to configureconditional pay-up ticks; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for trading a spreadaccording to one example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Conditional Pay-Up Ticks Overview

It is beneficial to offer tools that can assist a trader in trading inan electronic trading environment. The example embodiments, among otherthings, are directed to trading a trading strategy, such as a spread.One example method includes using a first pay-up tick value to determinea first acceptable price level for an order, such as an offset order,associated with a spread. The first pay-up tick can then beautomatically modified to a second pay-up tick in response to detectinga predefined condition. The predefined condition, as will be describedin greater detail below, can be based on market data corresponding toone or more tradeable objects of the spread, or yet some other data,such as news. The method further includes using the second pay-up tickvalue to determine a second acceptable price level for the offset order.Additional details related to the methods will be described in greaterdetail below.

While the example embodiments are described herein with reference toillustrative embodiments for particular applications, it should beunderstood that the example embodiments are not limited thereto. Othersystems, methods, and advantages of the present embodiments will be orbecome apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of thefollowing drawings and description. It is intended that all suchadditional systems, methods, features, and advantages be within thescope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanyingclaims.

II. Hardware and Software Overview

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the exampleembodiments may be operated in an entirely software embodiment, in anentirely hardware embodiment, or in a combination thereof. However, forsake of illustration, the example embodiments are described in asoftware-based embodiment, which is executed on a computer device. Assuch, the example embodiments take the form of a computer programproduct that is stored on a computer readable storage medium and isexecuted by a suitable instruction system in the computer device. Anysuitable computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks,CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices, forexample.

In an electronic trading environment, when an authorized trader selectsa tradeable object, the trader may access market data related to theselected tradeable object(s). Referring to FIG. 1, an examplecommunication that might occur between an electronic exchange and aclient entity in accordance with the example embodiments is shown.During a trading session, market data 108, in the form of messages, maybe relayed from a host exchange 106 over communication links 116 and 112to a client entity generally indicated as 102. The client entity 102 maybe a single client terminal that is used by a single trader or multipleclient terminals corresponding to multiple traders associated with oneor more trading groups. The client entity 102 may include any computerthat accesses one or more networks. For example, the client entity 102can be a personal computer, a laptop computer, a hand-held device, andso on.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, intermediate devices, such as gateway(s) 104,may be used to facilitate communications between the client entity 102and the host exchange 106. It should be understood that while FIG. 1illustrates the client entity 102 communicating with a single hostexchange 106, in an alternative embodiment, the client entity 102 couldestablish trading sessions to more than one host exchange. Also, itshould be understood that information being communicated to and from theclient entity 102 and the exchange 106 could be communicated via asingle communication path.

The market data 108 contains information that characterizes thetradeable objects, including, among other parameters, order relatedparameters, such as price and quantity, and the inside market, whichrepresents the lowest sell price (also referred to as the best or lowestask price), and the highest buy price (also referred to as the best orhighest bid price). In some electronic markets, market data may alsoinclude market depth, which generally refers to quantities available fortrading the tradeable object at certain buy price levels and quantitiesavailable for trading the tradeable object at certain sell price levels.

In addition to providing the tradeable object's order book information,electronic exchanges can offer different types of market informationsuch as total traded quantity for each price level, opening price, lasttraded price, last traded quantity, closing price, or order fillinformation. It should be understood that market information providedfrom an electronic exchange could include more or fewer items dependingon the type of tradeable object or the type of exchange. Also, it shouldbe understood that the messages provided in the market data 108 may varyin size depending on the content carried by them, and the software atthe receiving end may be programmed to understand the messages and toact out certain operations.

A trader may view the information provided from an exchange via one ormore specialized trading screens created by software running on theclient entity 102. Upon viewing the market information or a portionthereof, a trader may wish to take actions, such as send orders to anexchange, cancel orders at the exchange, or change order parameters, forexample. To do that, the trader may input various commands or signalsinto the client entity 102. Upon receiving one or more commands orsignals from the trader, the client entity 102 may generate messagesthat reflect the actions taken, generally shown at 110. It should beunderstood that different types of messages or order types can besubmitted to the host exchange 106, all of which may be consideredvarious types of transaction information. Once generated, user actionmessages 110 may be sent from the client entity 102 to the host exchangeover communication links 114 and 116.

The client entity 102 may use software that creates specializedinteractive trading screens on the client entity 102. The tradingscreens enable traders to enter and execute orders, obtain marketquotes, and monitor positions. The range and quality of featuresavailable to the trader on his or her screens varies according to thespecific software application being run. In addition to or in place ofthe interactive trading screens, the client entity 102 may run automatednon-interactive types of trading applications.

A commercially available trading application that allows a user to tradein systems like those shown in FIG. 1 and subsequent figures isX_TRADER® from Trading Technologies International, Inc. of Chicago, Ill.X_TRADER® also provides an electronic trading interface, referred to asMD Trader™, in which working orders and bid/ask quantities are displayedin association with a static price axis or scale. As mentioned above,the scope of the example embodiments described herein are not limited bythe type of terminal or device used, and are not limited to anyparticular type of trading application. Portions of the X_TRADER® andthe MD Trader™-style display are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,132entitled “Click Based Trading With Intuitive Grid Display of MarketDepth,” filed on Jun. 9, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/971,087, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,424, entitled “Click Based TradingWith Intuitive Grid Display of Market Depth and Price Consolidation,”filed on Oct. 5, 2001, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/125,894,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,389,268, entitled “Trading Tools for ElectronicTrading,” filed on Apr. 19, 2002, the contents of each are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIG. 2 shows an overview of client device 200 which is similar to thetype of client device 102 shown in FIG. 1. Client device 200 can be anyparticular type of computing device, examples of which were enumeratedabove with respect to the client device. According to one exampleembodiment, client device 200 has trading application 202 stored inmemory that when executed arranges and displays market information inmany particular ways, usually depending on how the trader prefers toview the information. Trading application 202 may also implement anautomated or semi-automated trading tool such as the automated spreadtrading tool that automatically sends orders into underlying legs toachieve a spread. Additionally, the preferred embodiments for regulatingthe trading tools may be part of trading application 202. Preferably,trading application 202 has access to market information through API 204(or application programming interface), and trading application 202 canalso forward transaction information to exchange 210 via API 204.Alternatively, API 204 could be distributed so that a portion of the APIrests on the client device 200 and a gateway, or at the exchange 210.Additionally, trading application 202 may receive signals from inputdevice 212 via input device interface 206 and can be given the abilityto send signals to display device 214 via display device interface 208.

Alternatively, the example embodiments described herein may be aseparate program from trading application 202, but still stored inmemory and executed on client device 200. In another alternativeembodiment, the preferred embodiments may be a program stored in memoryand executed on a device other than client device 200. Example devicesmay include a gateway or some other well known intermediary device.

III. Automatic Spread Trading Overview

The example embodiments describe conditional pay-up ticks that can beused by an automated spread trading tool to place orders based onspreads in an exchange order book. However, as pointed out earlier, theexample embodiments described herein are not limited to automated spreadtrading tools, and could be applied in relation to different tradingtools having order entry systems that can determine prices for orders tobe placed in the market. For example, another type of trading tool thathas an automated order entry system and may benefit using the preferredembodiments is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/284,584,now U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0236737, filed on Oct. 31, 2002 andentitled, “System and Method for Automated Trading,” the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference. Also, the exampleembodiments are not limited to spreads, and could be easily applicablein relation to different trading strategies as well. One skilled in theart may readily adapt the example embodiments to work with this type ofautomated trading tool, or yet some other type of trading tool ortrading strategies, using the teachings described herein.

To assist in understanding how an automated spread trading tool mightwork, a general description is provided below. However, an automatedspread trading tool and its functions are described in greater detailand may be referenced in an already incorporated U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/137,979, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,437,325, filed on May 3, 2002and entitled, “System and Method for Performing Automatic SpreadTrading.”

According to one embodiment of an automated spread trading tool, atrader can select two or more individual tradeable objects underlyingthe spread, referred to herein as “legs” of the spread. The automaticspread trading tool preferably generates a spread data feed based oninformation in the legs and based on spread setting parameters, whichare configurable by a user. The spread data feed is communicated to agraphical user interface manager where it is displayed in a spreadwindow, and where data corresponding to the legs of the spread may bedisplayed as well. At the terminal, the user can enter orders in thespread window, and the automated spread trading tool will automaticallywork the legs to achieve, or attempt to achieve, a desired spread. Thespread is sometimes referred to herein as a synthetically created spreador a synthetic spread.

FIG. 3 illustrates the relationship between a synthetically createdspread 300 and its underlying “N” legs 302, where N can be any numbergreater than 1. For example, a spread might have two legs, three legs,four legs, and so on. Generation of the spread 300 may be based onrelationships that exist between the legs 302. Some relationships whichmight be used are described in the above incorporated U.S. Pat. No.7,437,325. Also, one skilled in the art of trading may have their ownrelationships which they prefer to use. It is not necessary to knowthese relationships, however, to understand the preferred embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates the same relationship between spread 300 and itsunderlying legs 302 as in FIG. 3, except that a spread order 304 hasbeen placed. When a trader enters an order to buy or to sell the spread(e.g., spread order 304) in a synthetic market, the automated spreadtrading tool automatically places orders in the appropriate legs toachieve or attempt to achieve the desired spread 304. For example, toachieve spread order 304, the automated spread trading tool mayautomatically enter orders 306, 308, . . . 310 into the underlying legs302 (e.g., “Leg 1,” “Leg 2,” . . . “Leg N”). The automated spreadtrading tool may, among other things, calculate the quantities andprices for the orders 306, 308, 310 based on market conditions in theother legs and one or more parameters. For example, according to onetrading strategy, consider if “Leg 1 Order” 306 is a buy order, then theprice of order 306 may be based on the best bid price of “Leg 2” and onthe best bid price of each leg through “Leg N.” Of course, depending onthe trading strategy, the price of order 306 might be based only on someof the legs and not on all N legs. Alternatively, other tradingstrategies may be used to determine the price and quantities of theorders. For example, the price of buy order 306 may be determined basedon the best ask price of “Leg 2” and on the best ask price of each legthrough “Leg N” (or on only some of the N legs). Of course, the orderparameters of an order in one leg can be based on other types of marketconditions in the other legs such as the last traded price (LTP), thelast traded quantity (LTQ), a theoretical value, or some other referencepoint.

According to the example embodiments, as the market conditions for eachleg move, an effective spread order price may be calculated. Forexample, if market conditions for “Leg 1” change, then an effectivespread order price associated with order 304 may be determined toreflect the new market conditions. Similarly, if market conditions for“Leg 2” change, then an effective spread order price associated withorder 304 may be determined. Using a conventional automated spreadtrading tool, if the effective spread order price is different from thedesired spread order price, then the automated spread trading tool wouldmove or re-price the leg orders in an exchange order book to maintainthe desired spread order price. In particular, the leg order(s) would bedeleted from the exchange, and new leg order(s) would be sent to theexchange to maintain the desired spread price. There are other ways tochange an order which may provide similar results, such as sending achange order request message to an exchange at which the order wasplaced, etc.

Alternatively, effective prices of spread orders can be calculatedcontinuously. For example, the effective spread order prices can becalculated every second or yet using some other time interval. Accordingto this alternative approach, it is not necessary to monitor changes inmarket conditions before an effective spread order price is calculated.Similarly to the above embodiment, however, using a conventionalautomated spread trading tool, if the effective price of the spreadorder is different from the desired price of the spread order, then theautomated spread trading tool would move or re-price the leg orders inthe exchange order book to maintain the desired spread price beingsought.

In an alternative embodiment, rather than calculating an effectivespread order price, the automated spread trading tool could calculateeffective prices of orders in each leg of the spread. In particular, asthe market conditions for each leg move, the effective prices of ordersin the other legs may be calculated such that the desired spread pricebeing sought by the trader can be maintained. For example, if marketconditions for “Leg 1” change, then the effective prices of orders basedon the market conditions in “Leg 1,” such as order 308 through order 310may be calculated to maintain the spread. If market conditions for “Leg2” change, then the effective prices of orders based on marketconditions in “Leg 2,” such as order 306 through order 310 may becalculated to maintain the spread. Further, to maintain the desiredspread price being sought, using a conventional automated spread tradingtool, if the effective prices of the leg orders are different from theprices of the leg orders, then the automated spread trading tool wouldmove or re-price the leg orders in an exchange order book. Inparticular, the leg order(s) would be deleted from the exchange, and anew leg order(s) at the effective price would be sent to the exchange.

Also, in another alternative embodiment, the effective prices of ordersin the other legs can be continuously calculated such that the desiredspread price being sought by the trader can be maintained. For example,the effective leg order prices can be calculated every second or yet atdifferent time intervals. Using this alternative approach, it is notnecessary to monitor changes in market conditions before the effectiveleg prices are calculated. Similarly to the above embodiment, however,to maintain the desired spread price being sought, using a conventionalautomated spread trading tool, if the effective prices of the leg ordersare different from the prices of the leg orders, then the automatedspread trading tool would move or re-price the leg orders in theexchange order book.

A. The Use of Offset Orders

According to one example configuration of the spread, when an orderassociated with one leg of a spread is filled, an “offset” order ispreferably sent to fill the other leg(s) at either the market price oras a limit order with pre-defined “pay-up ticks.” A market order is abid order or an ask order that is executed at the best price currentlyavailable in the market. In one example embodiment, the best prices maybe those prices nearest to the inside market, where the inside market isthe highest bid price and the lowest ask price for the tradeable objectbeing traded for which there is quantity in the market. A limit order isexecuted at a specific price as dictated by the trader, regardless ofwhether it is the best price and/or regardless of whether there issufficient quantity available for an immediate fill.

In one example embodiment, the user may configure the automatic spreaderto use either of these two offset techniques, but alternatively, otheroffset techniques known in the art of trading could be implemented aswell. In one example embodiment, a trader may set up spread orderparameters using a spread configuration window. The spread configurationwindow may include an “Offset With” field, and the field may be used todetermine whether quantities are entered as market orders or limitorders. In such an embodiment, the “Offset With” field may enable atrader to select either ‘market orders’ or ‘limit orders.’ When the‘market orders’ are selected, then quantities will be entered into themarket as market orders. If the “Offset With” field is set to ‘limitorders,’ then quantities will be entered as limit orders. The spreadconfiguration window could also include a Pay-up Tick' field, and thetrader could use the Pay-up Tick' field to define the number of ticksthat a trader is willing to pay beyond the basis of the limit price tocomplete a spread, or in other words an acceptable range of prices forthe offset order. In one example embodiment, the basis price of thelimit order may be based on a price that will achieve the desiredspread. Alternatively, the basis price for limit orders could be basedon the inside market (either the best offer in the case of a bid or thebest bid in the case of an offer).

Using pay-up ticks, to establish the price of the limit order, thepay-up tick value is added to the basis for a buy order and subtractedfrom the basis of the sell order. In other words, the pay-up ticks allowa trader to set a level of tolerance with respect to the filling of anadditional order. In one example embodiment, this tolerance can bedefined by a user specifying a number of ticks. Also, as will bedescribed in greater detail below, this tolerance may be set dynamicallybased on user-defined conditions.

i. Example 1 Quoting One or Two Legs With Offset Based on Market Orders

For example, when quoting one leg of a two-legged spread, after theworking order is filled in the quoted leg, the automatic spreader cansend an offset market order to fill the other leg. If the automaticspreader is quoting both legs of a two-legged spread, after one of theworking orders in one of the legs is filled, the automatic spreader maysend an offset market order to the other leg and then may attempt todelete the working order that was being quoted in the other leg. If someor all of that working order's quantity gets filled before it can bedeleted, in one example embodiment, the automatic spreader may send acorresponding offset market order to the other leg. This situation iscommonly referred to as a double fill scenario. Alternatively, theautomatic spreader can be set to first delete the working order beingquoted in the other leg before sending the offset market order.Different embodiments are possible as well.

When a partial quantity is filled in one of these legs, the spread ratiosettings are preferably used to determine the quantity of the offsettingorder that is sent into the second leg's market. For example, suppose atrader is working a 10-by-30 spread, where 1:3 corresponds to a spreadratio. Let's now assume that a trader places a first order having anorder quantity of 10 at an electronic exchange. Let's now assume thattwo of the 10 working quantity are filled on the first leg (20% of theworking quantity). An equal percentage (20%) of the offset quantity maybe sent into the market for the second leg. For the above example, aquantity of six (20% of 30-determined based on 1:3 ratio) would be sentinto the second leg's market, and the quantity of the spread would beadjusted based on the partially filled quantity. If the quantity (orspread units) are not whole numbers, the automatic spreader can roundup/down or truncate the quantity, depending on how it is programmed.

ii. Example 2 Pay-Up Ticks

Let's assume that a trader is working a spread for tradeable objects Aand B, and

buys the actively quoted quantity for tradeable object A, andconsequently now wants to sell tradeable object B in order to completethe spread, or, in other words, offset the position established inrelation to the tradeable object A. FIG. 5 shows two example marketdepth snapshots corresponding to the tradeable objects A and B. Now,let's assume that the desired spread value can be achieved by buyingtradeable object A at a price of 109300, so that the price of 109300 isthe basis for calculating the limit order. Let's also assume that the‘Pay-up Tick” field for that leg contains a value of 0. According tosuch configuration, a limit order will be entered at a price of 109300,which is the equivalent to the basis price plus zero ticks. It should beunderstood that the pay-up ticks can be used in relation to a minimumprice movement, as defined by the exchange, in a tradeable object.However, a tick can also refer to a larger or smaller amount than theminimum price movement. For example, the minimum price movement in aeCBOT for the ten year future is 0.5 tick.

Then, consequently, if the buy order fills in relation to the tradeableobject A, an offsetting order, here the sell order for the tradeableobject B can be automatically entered at the calculated price. Let's nowassume that the auto-spreader can achieve a spread by selling tradeableobject B at the best bid, and a pay-up tick is set to 1. In such anembodiment, the auto-spreader will submit the sell order for thetradeable object B at the price of 111260, which is the best bid pricecorresponding to the market price of the tradeable object B minus 1tick. If there is sufficient quantity available to complete the spreadat a price of 111260 or higher, that quantity may be filled immediately.If no such quantity is available, the limit order will not immediatelybe filled, but may instead remain entered at 111260 until sufficientquantity becomes available. In addition, if the trader sets the “Pay-upTick” value to 1, and a limit order is entered at a price that is 1ticks from the basis price, but quantity is available at a price betterthan where the limit order was entered, the order may get filled at thatbetter price. The “Pay-up Tick” feature therefore puts a limit on howfar away from the basis price determined for a spread order the traderis willing to allow an offset order or any spread order to be filled.

According to the example embodiment described above, using positivepay-up ticks, the auto-spreader offsets orders on a bid-to-bid orask-to-ask basis, which means, for example, in relation to a buy orderentered for one leg on a bid side of the market, that the sell order forthe other leg will also be entered on the bid side of the marketcorresponding to the second leg. However, there could be times when atrader may wish to achieve a bid-to-ask or ask-to-bid spread, such that,for example, when placing a buy order in relation to one leg on a bidside of the first market, the sell order will be entered on the ask sideof the second market, or vice versa. A trader could achieve such aconfiguration by defining negative pay-up ticks. Referring back to FIG.5, let's assume that the auto-spreader places a buy order in relation tothe tradeable object A at a price of 109300, and the sell order of thetradeable object B is configured with a negative pay-up tick of −1. Now,let's assume that based on the spread configuration, the sell order isto be entered at the best bid price in the market corresponding to thetradeable object B. However, using the negative pay-up ticks, theauto-spreader will modify the price corresponding to the sell order, andwill enter the sell order at 111270, the best bid 111265 minus (negative1 tick), which is 111265 plus 1 tick, thus submitting the order on theask side.

IV. Conditional Pay-Up Ticks

According to example embodiments that will be described in greaterdetail below, the auto-spreader application could allow a trader todefine and use conditional pay-up ticks. Using conditional pay-up ticks,a trader could define pay-up tick value(s) to be used in relation to oneor more legs of the spread, and the auto-spreader could dynamicallychange the pay-up tick value(s) based on, and upon detecting, anyuser-defined conditions. For example, when one or more conditions apply,the auto-spreader application could switch from using positive or zeropay-up ticks to using negative pay-up ticks, or vice versa.Alternatively, different values corresponding to positive or zero pay-upticks and negative pay-up ticks could be applied to spread orders basedon applicable conditions. It should be understood that many differentconditions could be used, such as market related conditions,trader-performance based conditions, or yet some other conditions thatare based on data from outside sources, such as news, or certainnumbers, such as announcement of unemployment numbers. For example, oneor more conditions that can be used to dynamically change values forpay-up ticks could be based on market volatility. In such an embodiment,a higher pay-up tick value could be used upon detecting a highlyvolatile market (where the market volatility could be defined by theuser as well), and a lower pay-up tick value or no pay-up tick valuecould be used upon detecting a non-volatile market. The conditions couldalso be based on one or more equations including a plurality ofuser-defined variables.

According to one example embodiment, a user could configure conditionsas well as values to be used in relation to pay-up ticks via an externalinterface, such as a spreadsheet. In such an embodiment, a user couldeasily change any variables and values associated with the conditionsand pay-up tick via the spreadsheet. However, it should be understoodthat different applications, other than spreadsheets, could be used aswell to configure and change conditions and the corresponding pay-uptick values. It should be understood that any desirable data exchangeprotocol could be used to embed information from the third partysoftware, such as a spreadsheet, to the auto-spreader application or toanother graphical user interface that is used to define conditions to beused by the auto-spreader application. For example, when the MicrosoftWindows is used as the third party software, Microsoft OLE 2.0 may beused to perform these functions. Microsoft OLE 2.0 may be used toprovide a link between any filter condition and one or more cells from aMicrosoft EXCEL spreadsheet. Data exchange protocols as well asembedding and linking techniques are well known to those skilled in theart. It should be understood that when an equation is used to define acondition, every time a value of one of the equation variables changes,the spreadsheet application or any other third party software maydynamically calculate a new value to be used in relation to determiningpay-up tick values.

It should be understood that an individual user could uniquely setconditions and pay-up tick values to suit his or her individual tradingstrategies. A trader could program the conditions and applicable pay-uptick values in a variety of ways and at any time, such as before tradingor on the fly. Alternatively, a system administrator who oversees anumber of traders may set up a number of conditions and associatedpay-up tick values for a group of traders or for individual traders. Insuch an embodiment, when a trader in that group inputs a new order, theauto-spreader can monitor data associated with the conditions, and thendynamically apply pre-configured pay-up tick values to the spread ordersbased on the applicable conditions.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a spread configuration window600. The spread configuration window 600 shows a spread having two legs602. However, it should be understood that any number of legs can beadded to the spread while configuring the spread using the configurationwindow 600. Preferably, the spread configuration window 600 has manyspread setting parameters that can be set by a user to customize thespread. As such, the spread setting parameters may control the behaviorof the spread as it is generated, displayed, and traded, depending onthe particular parameter.

The “Spread Name” 602 provides the name of the spread and/or the namesof underlying tradeable objects being traded as a spread, e.g., TTSIM-DFGBL SEP06 and TTSIM-D FGBL DEC 06. The legs of the spread are alsodisplayed in the “Leg” fields 610. Also, a trader could personalize thespread by renaming the spread and/or the legs to have any desired name.The spread window 600 also includes “Inside Slop” and “Outside Slop”parameters 604. The Inside Slop and Outside Slop parameters preventcontinuous re-quoting of working orders associated with the spread, andindicate the point at which the working bids/offers will be readjustedin the market to satisfy the spread value. The “Leg Color ID” parameter606 allows a trader to use the color selector to identify workingspreads and corresponding leg orders in the trading interface. As willbe described in greater detail below, a trader could also selectspecific colors or specific graphical indicators to be used in relationto spread orders that were generated using conditional pay-up ticks. The“Base Spread On” parameter 608 allows a trader to select a set of pricesto be used for trading spreads. As shown in FIG. 6, when the “ImpliedSpread Prices” are selected, the trading interface for trading thespecified spread will display the actual implied prices of the spread.Then, if the “Net Change” is selected, the trading interface willdisplay the spread prices as a net change from a previous settlementprice, or yet some other prices specified by a trader.

The “Customer Account” field 612 allows a trader to access the customeraccount for use in relation to trading the spread. The “Active Quoting”614 enables a trader to select a leg of the spread that theauto-spreader will quote in. If the checkbox is not selected, theauto-spreader will send an order for the unselected leg when the otherleg is filled. However, alternatively, it should be understood that theauto-spreader could simultaneously quote in both legs as well. When the“Adjust for Market Depth” 616 is checked, the auto-spreader will usemarket depth to calculate spread pricing. If the “Adjust for MarketDepth” 616 is unchecked, the pricing for the spread may be adjustedbased on the best bid/offer in the market. The “Offset With” field 618allows a trader to define a type of orders to be used in relation tooffset orders. As shown in FIG. 6, the offset orders could be limitorders. However, different order types could be used as well, such asmarket orders, for instance.

The “Pay-up Ticks” fields 620 can be used in conjunction with the“Offset With” filed 618 when the limit orders are selected. The “Pay-upTicks” fields 620 allow a trader to select two different types of pay-upticks. According to one embodiment, the pay-up ticks could be static,and a trader could select this type of pay-up ticks by defining valuesin relation to the “Numerical” fields in the Pay-up Ticks field 620. Thenumerical values defined for the static pay-up ticks could be positiveor negative. The spread configuration window 600 also allows a trader toenable conditional pay-up ticks that could be used in relation to one ormore legs of the spread. When the conditional pay-up ticks are selected,another graphical interface, such as the one illustrated in FIG. 7 canbe automatically activated to enable a trader to define conditions aswell as other settings to be used in relation to conditional pay-upticks. It should be understood that a trader could both, the staticpay-up ticks, as well as the conditional pay-up ticks. In such anembodiment, static pay-up ticks could be used in relation to spreadorders until one or more selected conditions associated with theconditional pay-up ticks are satisfied.

The “Spread Ratio” parameter 622 indicates the quantity ratio of eachspread leg in relation to other legs. A negative sign (−) before anumber in the “Spread Ratio” field may indicate a short leg. The “SpreadMultiplier” parameters 624 may be used to equate the cash value ofinter-product spreads in order to calculate the spread value. When the“Use Cancel/Replace rather than Change” field 626 is enabled, theauto-spreader will send a cancel/replace orders rather than attemptingto change the pending orders. The “Price Reasonability Check in Leg”field may be used to enable the auto-spreader to checkprice-reasonability on a leg before the trade is submitted to anexchange. Such functionality may be required for certain exchangesbefore a trade is accepted in the market. While the spread configurationwindow 600 shows the parameters described above, it should be understoodthat different parameters could be defined as well in relation to thespread.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a conditional pay-up tickconfiguration window 700 that can be used by a trader to configureconditional pay-up ticks. The graphical interface 700 can beautomatically activated when a trader selects a “Conditional” selectionbox in the “Pay-Up Ticks” fields 620 of the spread configuration window600 in FIG. 6. The configuration window 700 includes “Spread Leg” fields702, “Select Conditions” fields 704, “Add New Conditions” fields 706,“Create/Link Equations” fields 708, “Quantity Ratio” fields 710,“Minimum Quantity” fields 712, and “Pay-up Tick” value fields 714. Whenthe pay-up tick configuration window 700 is activated, the leg fields702 can be automatically populated using leg names from the spreadconfiguration window 600. While FIG. 7 illustrates two legs of thespread, it should be understood that the example embodiments are notlimited to spreads having only two legs.

As shown in FIG. 7, a trader could enter different pay-up tickconfigurations in relation to each leg of the spread. A user can use the“Select Condition” field 704 to select a condition that will be used toactivate the conditional pay-up tick values. For example, a conditioncould be based on market volatility, and different conditions could becreated for different levels of market volatility. Also, while a usermay select a single condition using the “Select Condition” field 704,the selected condition may be associated with more than onesub-condition, the satisfaction of which may trigger activation of thecorresponding condition. Also, it should be understood that a user couldselect multiple conditions to be used during a trading session. In suchan embodiment, different pay-up tick values could be used depending onwhich condition is triggered.

The “Create/Modify Condition” field 706 can be used to define newconditions or to specify/modify certain parameters associated with thecurrently existing conditions. For example, a pull down menu could beprovided in relation to the “Create/Modify Condition” field 706 toenable selection or creating of a new condition or modifying theexisting conditions. However, different selection options could beprovided as well. Once a user selects one of the options, one or moreother interfaces could be activated, and the interface(s) could be usedto create new conditions or to modify certain parameters of the existingconditions. For example, in relation to conditions that are based onmarket volatility, a user could create conditions corresponding to newmarket volatility levels, or modify market volatility levelscorresponding to the existing conditions. The market volatility levelscould be defined based on how many ticks the market moves per second, oryet based on some other definitions.

According to one example embodiment, some conditions could be based onone or more equations. The “Create/Link Equation” field 708 allows atrader to create equations or link them from other applications. Itshould be understood that a trader could also link any set ofinstructions or a computer program via the “Create/Link Equation” field708 to be used as a condition. Different configurations are possible aswell.

In addition to defining conditions, a user could define other parametersthat could also be used in the process of determining if the conditionalpay-up ticks should be activated. For example, the additional parameterscould be based on current market conditions, such as the quantityavailable in the market. According to one example embodiment illustratedin FIG. 7, a user could configure a quantity ratio using the “QuantityRatio” fields 710, and a minimum quantity using the “Minimum Quantity”fields 712. As shown in FIG. 7, a user could enable/disable eachfunction for the respective legs of the spread using selection boxes716, 720, and 724, 728. Then, values for the quantity ratios and minimumquantities could be defined via the fields 718, 722, 726, and 730. As anexample, lets assume that a trader sets the quantity ratio to 2.5 andthe minimum quantity to 100. In this case, if the tradeable object is anoffsetting tradeable object to be bought, then the best ask/best bidquantity ratio would have to be 2.5 or higher, and the best ask quantityneeds to be greater than 100.

Finally, when one or more conditions and/or parameters are selected, atrader could define pay-up tick values via the “Pay-Up Tick Value”fields 714. Alternatively, when a trader selects a condition, the“Pay-Up Tick Value” fields 714 could be automatically populated with thepreconfigured values corresponding to the selected condition(s).According to one example embodiment, a trader could define and activateboth the statically defined numerical pay-up ticks and conditionalpay-up ticks so that the statically defined numerical pay-up ticks canbe used until one or more selected conditions are met. Similarly, whenthe conditions are no longer satisfied, the auto-spreader applicationcan automatically revert back to using statically defined numericalpay-up ticks. For example, a trader may wish to configure static pay-upticks to use positive pay-up tick values, and then use negative pay-upticks when one or more conditions are satisfied.

According to one example embodiment, a trader may submit and viewworking order indicators via a trading interface, such as the MDTrader™-style display described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,132, andincorporated by reference above. According to one example embodiment,when conditional pay-up ticks are activated and used to generate anoffsetting order, a working order indicator that appears in the tradinginterface, or in relation to some other interface, may be displayed witha distinct color, shape, or yet some other distinguishingcharacteristic, so that a trader can have a visual confirmation of theconditional pay-up tick action. While visual representation foroffsetting orders that were generated using conditional pay-up tickvalues is one possible implementation, a trader could also select adistinct sound to be played when conditional pay-up tick order isplaced. It should be understood that a trader could configure differentcolors and/or sounds to be used in relation to different conditions.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for trading a spreadaccording to one example embodiment. It should be understood that eachblock in this and subsequent flowcharts may represent a module, segment,or portion of code, which includes one or more executable instructionsfor implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process.Alternate implementations are included within the scope of the exampleembodiments in which functions may be executed out of order from thatshown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverseorder, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understoodby those reasonably skilled in the art of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, at step 802, a condition is defined to be used inrelation to a spread. According to one example embodiment, the conditioncan be defined by a trader. However, the condition could be selectedautomatically from a pool of user-defined conditions, while theautomatic selection of the specific condition could be time-based. Thecondition could define one or more parameters to be monitored, and whenthe defined parameters are detected, the condition can be consequentlytriggered.

At step 804, the auto-spreader uses a first pay-up tick value inrelation to spread orders. The first pay-up tick value can be used todetermine a first acceptable price level or range for one or more ordersrelated to the spread, and the selection of orders in relation to whichthe first pay-up tick value is used may depend on user-configuration.The first pay-up tick value can be positive, negative, or zero.

At step 806, the condition is detected based on monitoring of dataassociated with the defined condition. It should be understood thatdifferent applications in communication with the auto-spreader can beused to monitor data associated with the conditions and to detect whenthe condition is activated. Alternatively, the auto-spreader can be usedto perform this function.

At step 808, upon the condition is detected, the first pay-up tick valueis automatically modified to a second pay-up tick value. Then, thesecond pay-up tick value can be used to determine a second acceptableprice level for one or more spread orders.

It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that methodsinvolved in the system and method for using conditional pay-up ticks inrelation to spread orders or yet some other orders generated by theautomatic or semi-automatic applications may be embodied in a computerprogram product that includes one or more computer readable media. Forexample, a computer readable medium can include a readable memorydevice, such as a hard drive device, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a computerdiskette, having computer readable program code segments stored thereon.The computer readable medium can also include a communications ortransmission medium, such as, a bus or a communication link, eitheroptical, wired or wireless having program code segments carried thereonas digital or analog data signals.

The claims should not be read as limited to the described order orelements unless stated to that effect. Therefore, all embodiments thatcome within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalentsthereto are claimed as the invention.

1. A method for submitting orders for a tradeable object, comprising:dynamically modifying a pay-up tick value according to a predefinedcondition via a processor; and submitting an order for a tradeableobject via the processor, the order having a price based on the modifiedpay-up tick value.
 2. The method of claim 1 where the order derives froma trading strategy.
 3. The method of claim 1 where the predefinedcondition is user-configurable.
 4. The method of claim 1 where thepay-up tick value is modified according to market data.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 where the pay-up tick value is modified according to auser-defined equation.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprisingdetermining a first price range according to the pay-up tick value. 7.The method of claim 6 further comprising determining a second pricerange according to the modified pay-up tick value.
 8. The method ofclaim 1 where the order comprises an offset order.
 9. A method fortrading a tradeable object, comprising: modifying a pay-up tick value inresponse to detecting a predefined condition via a client device; andsubmitting an order for a tradeable object via the client device, theorder having a price based on the modified pay-up tick value.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 where the order derives from a trading strategy. 11.The method of claim 9 where the predefined condition isuser-configurable.
 12. The method of claim 9 further comprisingdetermining a first price range according to the pay-up tick value. 13.The method of claim 12 further comprising determining a second pricerange according to the modified pay-up tick value.
 14. The method ofclaim 9 where the order comprises an offset order.
 15. The method ofclaim 9 where the order comprises a hedge order.
 16. The method of claim9 where the predefined condition is based on market data.
 17. A computerreadable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed bya processor cause the processor to carry out the steps comprising:modifying a pay-up tick value in response to detecting a predefinedcondition via a client device; and submitting an order for a tradeableobject via the client device, the order having a price based on themodified pay-up tick value.
 18. The method of claim 17 where thepredefined condition is based on market data.
 19. The computer readablemedium of claim 17 where the pay-up tick value is determined accordingto a user-defined equation.
 20. The computer readable medium of claim 19where the steps further comprise determining a second price rangeaccording to the modified pay-up tick value.